A proposal to remove grades 7 through 12 from Mount Hermon School will be the subject of a community meeting to be held at the school at 5 p.m. on September 10.
The Washington Parish School Board will be holding its regular monthly meeting at the school following the special community meeting.
Parish Superintendent of Schools Jennifer Thomas said the Mount Hermon School plan is a proposal at this point. At the September 10 community meeting the school board will present the proposed changes and questions can be asked by those attending the meeting.
She said the school board would then take some time to contemplate the input from the people at the community meeting before a special meeting is called for the board to vote on the proposal.
Mrs. Thomas said the main reason for the proposal is to expand opportunities for students. With only 139 students total in Grades 7-12, Mount Hermon School can only offer 5 dual enrollment courses vs the 11 offered at Franklinton High School.
“This is not about giving up on MHS,” she said. “It is about refusing to give up on the students of MHS and the opportunities they deserve.”
“Our responsibility is to provide every student in Washington Parish with the greatest opportunities possible.”
“Clubs, sports, and electives are not even comparable for students,” she said.
A small enrollment creates real academic challenges, she noted. “Small classes can sound ideal, but there comes a point when enrollment becomes so small that it limits what a school can reasonably provide. Several MHS classes have only four or five students,” Mrs. Thomas said.
“At the same time, many of the Mount Hermon teachers in grades 7–12 are responsible for approximately six different course preparations. That is extremely difficult for teachers.”
The superintendent said, “We cannot simply continue adding courses and programs when enrollment does not support the staffing necessary to provide them. This has made MHS one of the most difficult schools in our district to staff.”
“Our teachers work hard, but we have to ask ourselves whether the structure we have created is sustainable and whether it gives teachers the conditions they need to provide the strongest instruction possible.”
She added, “I know there will be sadness. I know there will be anger. I know there will be people who disagree with me. And I understand why.”
“But I have to make this decision based on what I believe gives our students the strongest future.”
“I cannot ask this community to forget its history. I would never want that. Instead, I am asking us to honor that history by making sure the next generation of students has every opportunity possible.”
Mrs. Thomas said, “Mount Hermon School has a proud past. It can still have a strong future as an elementary school serving this community. And our students can move forward into junior high and high school with access to more courses, more programs, more activities, more career pathways, and more opportunities.”
“At the end of the day, this decision has to be about them. Our students deserve more—and it is our responsibility to give them more.”
Opponents of the Mount Hermon School proposal have scheduled a meeting for Monday evening (August 31) at Silver Creek Campground.
The proposal to change the school to only elementary grades has created plenty of controversy in the Mount Hermon area. The Mount Hermon area’s elected school board member, Keith Giles, has vowed to fight the proposal. Other residents of the Mount Hermon area have also promised that they will not accept this proposed change without standing up and speaking out.
Mount Hermon residents have always expressed a closeness with their school, which dates back to the mid-1800’s. The 1885 Mount Hermon Schoolhouse is located at Mile Branch Settlement at the Washington Parish Fairgrounds in Franklinton.
